Abstracting visions from art

Susan Blood

Friday

Nov 5, 2010 at 2:00 AM

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-style-parent:""; font-size:11.0pt;"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-"Times New Roman";} An artist I worked with once told me he simply paints what he sees. But if artists paint what they see, wouldn't art all look the same? I wonder sometimes how literal his statement is. I have often wondered if different artists see things differently, and render accordingly

WHAT’S IT TO YOU? "untitled 10.04", mixed media on canvas by Monique Goetinck, is among her works on exhibit at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth.

Monique Goetinck’s canvases invite the imagination

An artist I worked with once told me he simply paints what he sees. But if artists paint what they see, wouldn't art all look the same? I wonder sometimes how literal his statement is. I have often wondered if different artists see things differently, and render accordingly. Monique Goetinck, whose show has just opened at South Yarmouth's Cultural Center of Cape Cod, paints highly textured canvases filled with rich, earthy tones. They are compelling from a tactile standpoint as well as visual. With a specific result in mind, Monique builds up the surface with asphalt to provide texture. She then applies oil paint with palette knives, layering on color and pushing paint into the textured base. Things appear in the painting because of the texture. This is intentional, despite first impressions. “You can walk into a painting. That's what I like about abstract art,” she said, adding, “I suppose this is abstract.” Are they not intended as purely abstract, then? She starts each painting with an idea, although she will not tell you what that idea is. She wants the viewer to find his or her own meaning. Or, and this is the fascinating part, see his or her own subject. She mentions that her husband thinks one painting (I'm not telling you which) looks like Wellfleet. In that instant, the painting in front of me turned into Wellfleet. It was the bank of Duck Creek and a trace of the town, all in the murky, subdued colors of a Wellfleet marsh. As hard as I tried, I could not turn it back into the abstract painting I thought it was. I looked around at the other paintings again and this time saw a moonlit room, a forest at dusk and a leaf-strewn river. Monique tells me that over time the paintings change completely. Different people see different things, and the same person can see a painting differently from day to day. From a commercial standpoint, that's a lot of mileage from one painting. From a therapeutic standpoint, the technique is very satisfying to Monique. She loves working with texture and finds the process meditative. With their earth-based colors and sensibilities, the paintings also count as meditative. If you go (and I hope you do), do me a favor. Sit with the paintings a minute. Look at them loosely and give yourself room to imagine. Give them some time. They will reward you. Monique Goetinck's series of new paintings will hang in the Blue Room at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod through Nov. 14. An artist reception is scheduled for Nov. 6 from 4:30 to 6:30pm.

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